August 26, 2012 Psalm 84

Psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord of hosts!

My soul longs,

indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young, at your altars,

O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.

Happy are those who live in your house,

ever singing your praise.           Selah

Happy are those whose strength is in you,

 in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs;

the early rain also covers it with pools.

They go from strength to strength;

the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

give ear, O God of Jacob!           Selah

Behold our shield, O God;

look on the face of your anointed.

For a day in your courts

is better than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than live in the tents of wickedness.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

he bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does the Lord withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts,

happy is everyone who trusts in you.

SERMON 

Have you ever been to those big cathedrals where you just want to sit in the dark wooden pews and let vast stillness surround you? Have you ever been to one those old, old churches, where the only sound is the click and echo of heeled shoes on big slabs of blue stone or smooth marble? Have you ever looked up at a stained glass ceiling or a high window and felt the presence of saints past and as if their story remained etched in the colored glass? Have you ever been outside and seen those great carved wooden doors, and longed to go in for your soul needed the presence of the Lord? Have you ever longed for this sanctuary to just come and sit, have you ever longed for worship, for single hymn? I suppose you have felt that presence, because here you are again.

This too is the world of the psalmist. He writes:

How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord of hosts!

My soul longs,

indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

Maybe you have that longing, that praising Spirit, but it is not found in old buildings. Instead you are drawn to well worn paths, trails up mountains, or pastures under big sky. Maybe sometimes you long to simply lay back and ponder the clouds, or attempt to define the stars. Perhaps majesty for you comes from chancing upon a deer and meeting the gaze of her dark, dark eyes. Maybe you feel at home in the dew covered cool morning. This is the world of which the psalmist speaks. He writes:

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young, at your altars,

O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.

Happy are those who live in your house,

ever singing your praise.           Selah

Maybe you find the psalmist’s world in the places you least expect it. Maybe like rain in the desert, you see grace in the help that comes when you humbly ask. Maybe you see that Sprit filling the space where the words, “Thank you,” can never be enough. Maybe you know it in the reconciliation of families, and the forgiveness of debt. Maybe you see grace in healing. This is the world of the psalmist. This is our world, our sanctuary. He writes:

Happy are those whose strength is in you,

 in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs;

the early rain also covers it with pools.

They go from strength to strength;

the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

Perhaps your sanctuary is found when your prayer is heard and its answer felt. Perhaps your sanctuary comes when your life is like a storm, yet you feel as if you were sitting patiently in its eye. Perhaps your sanctuary comes in a prayer in a hospital room. Perhaps your sanctuary is present in unexpected tears. Maybe your sanctuary is a glimpse of the indescribable divine. This is our world, our sanctuary, and the sanctuary of the psalmist. He writes:

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

give ear, O God of Jacob!           Selah

Behold our shield, O God;

look on the face of your anointed.

Maybe you’ve felt the sanctuary of the Lord. Do you long for the sanctuary, or are you living in the sanctuary? Maybe your life feels tied to the sanctuary, and your gratitude and praise is a response to the sanctuary’s life within you. Maybe you put your hope and your trust in that sanctuary place. Maybe the sanctuary directs your life, allows you to make the tough, right choice. Maybe the sanctuary protects you from falling astray.  Maybe you are happy because you trust in the sanctuary. Maybe you wonder what the sanctuary is all about? The Psalmist knows. Listen as he writes:

For a day in your courts

is better than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than live in the tents of wickedness.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

he bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does the Lord withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts,

happy is everyone who trusts in you.

Do you know the sanctuary of our Lord? Does it surround you? Do you feel its presence? Amen.

AUGUST 12, 2012 EPHESIANS 4:25-5:2

EPHESIANS 4:25-5:2

So then, putting away falsehood,

let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors,

for we are members of one another. 

Be angry but do not sin;

do not let the sun go down on your anger, 

and do not make room for the devil. 

Thieves must give up stealing;

rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands,

so as to have something to share with the needy. 

Let no evil talk come out of your mouths,

but only what is useful for building up,

as there is need,

so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,

with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 

Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 

and be kind to one another, tenderhearted,

forgiving one another,

as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Therefore be imitators of God,

as beloved children, 

and live in love,

as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,

a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

***

This Ephesians text is essentially another version of the commandments, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t sin, don’t talk evil, don’t make room for the devil, don’t let the sun go down on your anger, don’t slander, don’t be bitter and wrathful and wrangle with anger, don’t act with malice, don’t grieve the Holy Spirit. Honor your God, speak grace with your words, speak that which builds up the community, labor for the needy with the honest work of your hands, be kind to one another, be tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you, be imitators of God, be children, live in love, live in love as Christ loved us, live in love - your life as fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

It is quite of the list of commandments, and quite different from the Old Testament list. The Old Testament list is easier, and therefore easier to ignore. We know not to steal; we know not to lie. Yet, this New Testament list takes the commandments further. It takes them from Old Testament prescriptions to New Testament imaginations of grace in community. Can you imagine? Not only don’t lie but more so, don’t slander. Not only don’t speak evil, but more so, speak only that which builds up the community. Be angry, but do not let the sun go down on your anger. Can you imagine?

Imagine a community, this community where if for one week, maybe even for a month, we only said kind things to each other. Imagine a community where for one month all the letters to the editor were those sweet ones praising our citizens for helping one another. You know the ones speaking of the care of a car mechanic, or praising the community for supporting a family with very sick children. Can you imagine if for one-month kind, tenderhearted things were all we said? Imagine if our city parades were a time to celebrate our history and our community, rather than a time to divide over politics and protests under guise of candy. What if for one month there was no talk of wolves and ranchers, of roads and forests, of the school board vs. school board? What understanding might come, what community might bridge, what peace might be, what healing might be possible after that month?

 You may ask, ‘How can we speak truth and seek justice without naming lies and oppression?’ The passage does not say, "don’t be angry." It says, “Be angry, but do not sin.” Speak truth, but don’t slander. It is fine line yet we usually know when we cross it. We can go as far as the Letter from the Birmingham Jail, but not so far as many of our community’s Letters to the Editor. How would we view Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. if that letter insulted his opponents with slander, instead of explaining his deep heart and deep imagination over the issue? Can you imagine if our national politics followed this admonition of, “speak truth, but don’t slander?” Instead of our election year politics listing the evils of another, it would focus on the achievements and hopes of themselves. Words and phrases would not be turned and twisted but sought to be understood. We would have an example of how to live our lives, rather than exhausting examples of how to tear down one another.

Can you imagine what speaking truth and kindness would be like in our personal lives? How often is it our loved ones that get brunt of our untamed lips? How often do our loved ones see the worst side ourselves? How often do we cross that line with the ones we love? How often do we forgive as Christ forgave? How often do we let them know what we love about them? How often do we speak grace to them? For one month could our relationship be a fragrant offering to our Lord? How much more could we live in love? Imagine, imagine, imagine what it would be like.

Can you imagine a world where we live imitating God? Can you imagine a world where we speak grace and kindness for the building up of community? Can you imagine a world where we live in love? Can you imagine a world where we live as children? Can you imagine this world in our community? Begin by imagining a park, filled with song and praise, and put luck, and playground, and people, gathered together in community. Let us begin by imagining.